This is an odd movie. We see a toddler wandering around an Indonesian zoo. She grows up into a pretty woman. Her life appears to be quietly wonderful. Her routine and interactions with the animals are hypnotic. She meets a cowboy who visits the place regularly. He also appears to be some sort of magician. They then interact with a seedy nightclub owner. The cowboy suddenly disappears. She starts working in the club’s massage parlour. The end. Is the director, Edwin, trying to be in the mould of Apichatpong Weerasethakul? I’m not a fan of UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES, but at least that picture is beautifully shot. POSTCARDS FROM THE ZOO is more naturalistic with the lighting choices, and quite relaxing to watch. The movie is frustrating in it’s opacity though.

White Deer Plain

This was my tweet after watching: ★ The only jury this should face is one at the Hague for breach of the Convention on Human Rights. 188 minutes!

Interminable look at an area in China, White Deer Plain, over about twenty years. Dire.

Just the Wind

The best film in Competition. At least it won the Silver Bear. Based on acts of violence that occurred in Hungary over 2008/9, where Romany people were murdered. JUST THE WIND is expertly made. There is an all-pervasive tension that reminds me of AFTERSCHOOL. The menace is palpable as we watch a family and their mistreatment by the local community. There is an out though for their situation, as the mother, Birdy, is saving to take her two children and father to join her husband in Canada. They are extremely poor. Her father is incapacitated, and she has two cleaning jobs. And owes a lot of money. Plus five families have been killed. There is hardly any dialogue, but you care about what happens to the leads. JUST THE WIND is an oppressive commentary on racism and poverty. It is summer, and the film is full of sunshine, yet claustrophobic and the threat of imminent violence is ever-present. A must-see.

POSTCARDS FROM THE ZOO

MERCY

Mercy

“They will learn to live with it. As will I. We will learn to live with it. We have to.” Maria to her husband Niels.

I love Apple products, but I practically screamed at the screen, “You’re f*cking kidding!” when the movie finished. It has possibly the worst last shot in cinema history, as the camera pulls out to reveal an iPhone – like some inept advert. What was director Matthias Glasner thinking?! The young son in the film goes around recording moments, coincidentally at times really relevant to the story. This only takes up a small percentage of the narrative, but the product placement is so jarring that it takes time to readjust back to the story on each occasion. The rest of the visuals are flashy to the point of over-egging and showing-off, which I don’t mind, and secretly really enjoy. It’s better than being bland.

Plot-wise, we’re in Susanne Bier OPEN HEARTS territory. Think also Terry George’s RESERVATION ROAD. An accident overturns the lives of two families. Niels is an engineer who has moved his wife and child from Germany to Norway, to one of the most northern cities in the world. His wife is a nurse, and one day is involved in an unintentional hit-and-run, resulting in the death of a teenage girl. The title would suggest an exploration of clemency, though that’s not what happens. Ideas of guilt (including by association), and neglect are looked at. MERCY would have been satisfying had it concluded about five minutes earlier with ambiguity; instead it veers from the unbelievable to the ludicrous.

A Royal Affair

Who doesn’t enjoy a grand period romp infused with some substance? For all the charisma and good-looking people on screen, A ROYAL AFFAIR is a pedestrian affair; Mills & Boon meets democracy for beginners. Where were the surprises? The ill-treated queen of Denmark, by her seemingly psychologically over-whelmed husband, starts an illicit romance with the king’s physician; who is a ‘free thinker’ and intellectual, during a time of censorship and religious oppression. The filmmakers seem to want to please everyone, and instead make a not particularly thought-provoking melodrama. Also, how much of this movie is factually correct?

War Witch

The second best film in Competition. A gripping take on child soldiers in Africa. Beginning with a voice over from the lead, Komona (Rachel Mwanza), explaining to her unborn baby how she ended up being a fighter for the rebels. She was just 12 years old when kidnapped and forced to kill her parents. A recurring motif is Komona seeing the people that die at her hands appear before her; not with crummy CGI, rather just made up all in white. The images so work, and elevate WAR WITCH. The title refers to the lead, believed to have supernatural powers by the insurgents. Komona has the uncanny knack of being able to predict where and when government forces will attack. She is very valuable. Another child soldier, Magicien (Serge Kanyinda), falls for her and wants to take her away from their cruel existence. The brutality and injustice is crushing. Komona talks about how she hopes she will have enough love for her baby when it is born. WAR WITCH packs a punch.

Ending on a high, though not a strong year overall film-wise, but such a well-organised and entertaining festival.

Below is my Top 5 across the strands from the Berlin Film Festival 2012: